Selenium vs Appium

Both Selenium and Appium are open source test automation tools. Selenium simplifies automated web application testing by supporting many browsers, operating systems, and programming languages. Appium comes with features to simplify automated testing of native, mobile web, and hybrid apps.

The testers can use Selenium to evaluate various websites and web applications running on desktop browsers. They can use Appium to test different types of mobile apps running on iOS and Android platforms. But Appium drives the iOS, Android, and Windows apps through Selenium WebDriver.

It even uses WebDriver JSON wire protocol to drive the iOS Android sessions. But the two widely used test automation frameworks still differ from each other in terms of functionality, compatibility, and usage. The testers must understand the major differences between Selenium vs Appium to pick the right test automation framework.

Comparing Two Widely Used Test Automation Tools: Selenium vs Appium

Design Concept

Selenium is designed as a test automation suite for websites and web applications. It was designed with the intention to accelerate web application testing by controlling browser actions automatically. On the other hand, Appium was developed as a HTTP server using NodeJS. The testers have to install NodeJS on the system as a prerequisite to initialize and use Appium server.

WebDriver

The testers have option to choose from two distinct parts of Selenium – Selenium WebDriver and Selenium IDE. WebDriver makes it easier for users to create browser-based regression automation tests and suites. It even allows testers to distribute the test cases smoothly across varied environments. Appium automates mobile app testing by leveraging WebDriver. It drives iOS and Android sessions through WebDriver JSON wire protocol.

Platform Support

Both Selenium and Appium are cross-platform test automation frameworks. Selenium accelerates web application testing by supporting major desktop browsers and operating systems. On the other hand, Appium supports​Windows along with major mobile platforms like iOS and Android.

Programming Language Support

Selenium supports a number of widely used programming languages – Java, PHP, JavaScript, Python, Ruby and C#. Hence, the testers have option to write test scripts in a number of programming languages. Appium support all programming languages with Selenium client library. But Appium, unlike Selenium, has features to create test scripts automatically.

Use Cases

Selenium is a test automation framework for web application testing. However, the testers can also use Selenium to automate web services and API test. They can even use Selenium to automate mobile app testing. On the other hand, Appium comes with features to automate mobile app testing. The testers can use Appium to evaluate native, mobile web, and hybrid apps. They can even use Appium to test apps running on iOS and Android platforms and devices.

On the whole, both Selenium and Appium are open source and cross-platform automation testing tools. Selenium comes with features to simplify development of various web applications. At the same time, Appium accelerate testing of native, hybrid, and mobile web apps by leveraging Selenium WebDriver. Hence, it is always important for testers to keep in mind precise project needs while comparing Selenium and Appium.